26/06/2025
Celebrating Annette Rypalski’s 23-year conservation legacy.
After 23 incredible years at Mt Rothwell - Biodiversity Interpretation Centre and later as part of Odonata Foundation, our Biodiversity Director, Annette Rypalski, is embarking on a new journey alongside our founder, Nigel Sharp.
We are deeply grateful for Annette’s leadership in Australian conservation, and for the foundation and team she has built around her to enable Odonata’s species team to thrive.
Annette helped to shape Mt Rothwell into a significant player, changing the extinction trajectory of many species, including the mainland eastern barred bandicoot, eastern quoll, and southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby.
Annette’s work was foundational to the downlisting of the eastern barred bandicoot from ‘extinct in the wild’ to ‘endangered’, just the second time in Australia this has occurred with a land-based mammal.
She also worked with her team, volunteers, and key partners to lead the most successful semi-wild breeding program of the southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby, with a current estimated population of 500 wallabies across Odonata’s sanctuary network (just 50 remain in the wild).
When reflecting upon a role that has spanned more than two decades, Annette’s highlights include rescuing southern brush-tailed rock-wallabies during the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires; reintroducing quolls and bandicoots with the Eastern Maar at Tiverton; being part of the team returning bush stone-curlews to Phillip Island for the first time in 50 years; and partnering with Tjaltjraak Rangers to monitor the Gilbert’s potoroo on Middle Island.
And whilst these highlights make for a solid list of accomplishments, it’s the volunteers and staff who spent many a day and late night working alongside Annette in the field, the Mt Rothwell Christmas parties, the daily midday ritual of staff and volunteers coming together for lunch, and all those small moments that will always be treasured.
On behalf of the team and volunteers at Odonata, we wish Annette all the very best as she embarks on her next wild adventure alongside our founder, Nigel Sharp, as they explore a new project in the Brisbane Ranges. Who knows, maybe it’ll become part of the Odonata story too…
But for now, we look forward to following along as new ground is broken in landscape-scale species recovery.
Thank you, Annette, for your remarkable service, may we continue to do you proud.
